The United States is now officially the most fucked nation on Earth.
Thanks Trump! 🖕
Only I can screw up my Absent Voter Ballot Application by putting my signature and information in the places that were meant for the clerk. Now I have to request another one.
Imagine there are no political parties. It’s easy if you try. Then everyone would stop winning one for the team and care about doing what’s right. Imagine. America could truly be great again, if we did away with Republicans and Democrats and voted for the individual rather than the party. There would be less hate for your fellow countryman. We would be more willing to work together if loyalties weren’t holding us back. Imagine.
People continue to think the Second Amendment is about hunting and personal protection. The Second Amendment doesn’t have a thing to do with either of those.
I accept that some people don’t like guns, don’t want a gun and don’t feel they need a gun. That’s fine. I completely support their choice. But I take issue when someone says I shouldn’t have a gun and that I don’t need one.
Do I really need a gun? I don’t know. I live in a nice neighborhood, in a somewhat rural area. I’ve never witnessed any crime around here. But occasionally strange people come to my door. You never know what someone’s intent could be.
I know that violent crime can happen anywhere. Not just big cities. Even the most rural areas can have violent crime. So, you never know. I choose to be armed because I don’t want find myself a target and not have the means to prevent myself from becoming a victim.
I have faith in police forces. But I also know that in most cases, the police are not on the scene at the time the crime is being committed. I suspect most other people know that too. So, it’s strange to me when people say things like “We don’t need guns because we trust the police to do their jobs.”
I live in a nation where firearm ownership is allowed. I know that many other nations don’t allow firearm ownership. Most of the people in these nations seem fine with that and I’m happy for them. Maybe it really does make a difference in their country. But just because it works for them, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for everyone.
I’ve heard all of the different comparisons of my country to another country. Most of the time, I don’t agree that country is any better than mine. Usually that country has a much smaller population and does not have as much land. Though they might have a lower rate of violent crimes, the rates are usually high enough to be a concern.
You don’t have to be armed. But how can you honestly not understand why I prefer to be? How can you honestly tell me that I shouldn’t have or don’t need a gun? If I didn’t have a gun, what should I do if someone attacked me with a weapon? I’m physically strong, I can fight. But I’d rather not be hit with a baseball bat, or stabbed repeatedly while struggling with this person who attacked me, or shot.
So, what would you have me do? Your way of thinking seems to be, I should just accept that I will be a mess for the police to clean up.
The Second Amendment doesn’t cover personal protection. That’s not what the Second Amendment is about. If you own a firearm that you never take out in public, you are already exercising your Second Amendment right. Taking a firearm, whether it’s a pistol or a rifle, out in public and saying you’re doing it to exercise your Second Amendment is bullshit.
Carrying a firearm for protection is separate from owning firearms because the Second Amendment allows you to. I believe strongly that if you’re going to carry a firearm in public, it should never be a long gun. It should be a pistol. There are pros and cons for concealed carry and open carry, but I always felt that concealed carry was the better choice. Because if the pistol is out of sight, there’s less risk of a misunderstanding.
If you’re carrying a long gun, though, you’re just asking for trouble.
I had planned to write fifty pages of fiction today, but all I got was five. This topic is distracting.
Last night, I shared this article. But then it was pointed out to me that there is more to the story than that.
This brings to mind something from a few years ago. A guy walked around an airport with a high-capacity rifle. I think the airport was Atlanta. He was doing it to exercise his Second Amendment right. I’d say that’s the same thing Andreychenko did.
I never thought it was a good idea. My way of thinking is, while you have the right to be armed for defense purposes in public, you should not be armed in a manner that terrorizes people.
I’m not a fan of open carrying pistols in public places either, but I don’t find it alarming. When I see someone at the grocery store with a pistol on his hip, especially if the pistol is stainless or a 1911, I have to resist the urge to look at it out of admiration.
I’m not sure how I would react if I saw someone at the grocery store with an AR15 hanging from his chest. I guess if he was keeping his hands off it, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, but I think other people would.